It Is Time For Laskiainen

Happy Laskiaissunnuntai!!

Laskiainen is originally a feast for beginning of the lent in Catholic church. It is the last day to eat good and have fun because for the next 40 days you are not supposed to eat meat and you should admit yourself to lent. Laskiainen is known as a Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day in English. Mardi Gras is also a form of celebration for Laskiainen.

In Finland Laskiainen doesn't only consist of Laskiaistiistai (Shore Tuesday) but also the Sunday before that it is known as Laskiaissunnuntai, which is today. The celebrations for these days in Finland have been influenced by the Catholic church but also by the old Finnish pagan rituals.

Here are some of the rituals and beliefs that the people in Finland believed in long time ago:

- You need to stop working early in the afternoon because this way you ensure that your work will be going smoothly for the rest of the year.

- You need to go to sauna during day light (usually people enjoy sauna and shower in the evening) and you have to stay quiet while there.

- You need to eat well! Lots of meat and fat because you don't get to eat for the next 40 days.

- The more your fingers and sides of your mouth gleam with fat, the better your cows will milk for the rest of the year.

- You are not allowed to lick the fat off from your fingers but you will need to let it dry off. This will guarantee that your scythe will stay sharp for the harvest in the fall.

- You will need to go sledding, and the further your sled goes, the more your flax will grow in the summer (flax fiber was used to make cloth back in the day, and the longer the fiber, the easier it was to make the cloth).

I went sledding at Laskiainen 2010.

- While sledding you need to yell out sayings that bring good luck to your harvest and bad luck to your neighbor's. For example; you yell out that you want long flax, fine hemp and turnips as huge as a plate. Then for the neighbor's fields you wish for thorns and other weeds.

My brother's family was there too.

- Women need to keep their hair down and brush them often to ensure that the flax grows long, smooth and shiny.

Interesting, isn't it? I guess I will need to keep my hair down today (*giggle*). I like the idea of having fun outside in the snow and then eating well afterwards. I won't be going sledding today but I will make traditional food that is usually eaten during Laskiainen in Finland. We are having Hernekeitto which is peasoup in English, and for desert we will have Laskiaispulla. That is a sweet bun filled with whipped cream and strawberry jam. Sounds really good to me!

Hernekeitto and toasted bread with cheese. I like to dip the bread in the soup.

I like to mix in some mustard in my peasoup as well.

As already told earlier, for desert Finns eat Laskiaispulla at Laskiainen. Here is a tutorial for all the non-Finns, how to make your own Laskiaispulla. It is very simple! First you will need sweet buns. This time I didn't make mine from scratch but I bought frozen ones from the store. They only need baking for few minutes in the oven.

Then you will need whipped cream, and lots of it! I like to use real cream that I whip myself, and not the canned stuff. Real whip cream tastes better. I also put some sugar and vanilla in it too.

And last but not least, strawberry jam.

Then it is time to construct our Laskiaispulla. Cut the bun in half and spread some jam.

Follow with the cream and then place the other half of the bun on the top. Ready to eat!

 While you're at it, make few extra buns because you know your friends will want to have one too. Or two!

I could eat these all year around!! I love buns, I love whipped cream and who wouldn't love strawberry jam... Perfect!

Kisses for my sweetie!

 That is Laskiainen in Finland. I hope everybody is having fun, eating good and staying quiet in the sauna today. Stay tuned for Shrove Tuesday because I just might make a post about Mardi Gras then. It is a fun feast too! Plus all the Finns already know about Laskiainen and not so much about Mardi Gras.

HAPPY LASKIAINEN!!!